Shock stiffener system

ABSTRACT

Provided is an on-demand shock stiffening system. The on-demand shock stiffening system operates to immediately stiffen the shocks in response to a user activating the system. The system may include a main body with an oil flow aperture and a flow control system that operates to restrict the flow of oil between the reservoir and the shock. The on-demand shock stiffening system may be coupled between the reservoir and the bridge of the shock and operates to restrict flow of the oil in order to stiffen the shock immediately in an on-demand manner.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Applicationto Justin Smith entitled “SHOCK STIFFENER SYSTEM,” Ser. No. 62/964,618,filed Jan. 22, 2020, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporatedentirely herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Technical Field

This invention relates generally to shocks for a vehicle and moreparticularly to an on-demand shock stiffener system for immediatelystiffening a shock.

State of the Art

The use of UTVs are common, and often the desire of drivers andpassengers of a UTV is for the shocks to operate in a soft condition.This allows the UTV to engage bumps and rough areas of road and pathsdriven with reduced jarring or vibration for the passengers. However,there are moments during the operation of the UTV where the shocks needto be stiff, such as after a jump or a sharp drop or other obstaclewhere the UTV may bottom out. There are not aftermarket systems thatexist to allow an on-demand stiffening of the shocks.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an on-demand shock stiffening system.The on-demand shock stiffening system operates to immediately stiffenthe shocks in response to a user activating the system.

The foregoing and other features and advantages of the present inventionwill be apparent from the following more detailed description of theparticular embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the present invention may be derived byreferring to the detailed description and claims when considered inconnection with the Figures, wherein like reference numbers refer tosimilar items throughout the Figures, and:

FIG. 1 is a partially-exploded perspective view of a shock stiffeningsystem in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of a flow control system of a shockstiffening system in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 2B is a top view of a flow control system of a shock stiffeningsystem in accordance with the embodiment of FIG. 2A; and

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of steps of a method of use of a shockstiffening system in accordance with an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

As discussed above, embodiments of the present invention relate to anon-demand shock stiffening system. The on-demand shock stiffening systemoperates to immediately stiffen the shocks in response to a useractivating the system.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the on-demand shock stiffening system 10 may becoupled to a hydraulic shock system 32 of a vehicle. The hydraulic shocksystem 32 may typically include a shock 26, a bridge 28 coupled to theshock 26, and an oil reservoir 30, wherein the oil reservoir 30 iscoupled to the bridge 28 in order to supply oil to the shock 20. A mainbody 12 of the shock stiffening system 10 is coupled between the oilreservoir 30 and the bridge 28. The system 10 may be coupled to anyhydraulic shock system and operate to stiffen any shock of the hydraulicshock system in an on-demand manner.

As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the shock stiffening system 10 may includea main body 12 having an oil flow aperture 20 extending through the mainbody 12. Additionally, there are bypass apertures 22 that extend throughthe main body 12. The system 10 may include a flow control system thatoperates to stop the flow of oil through the oil flow aperture 20. Inone embodiment, the flow control system includes a solenoid 14 coupledto a plunger 24. The plunger 24 is slidably coupled within a plungerchannel 34 of the main body 12. The solenoid 14 is coupled to a controlswitch 18, which may be coupled to the vehicle within the drivercompartment, by a coupler 16, which may be a wired coupler or a wirelesscoupler. The solenoid 14 is electric and is operable by operation of thecontrol switch 18 that supplies power to the solenoid 14. The controlswitch 18 may be, without limitation, a push button. Activation of thesolenoid 14 moves the plunger 24, within the plunger channel 34, to anengaged position that blocks flow of the oil between the reservoir 30and the shock 26 through the bridge 28. The restriction of flow of oilthrough the oil flow aperture 20 prevents the shock 26 from compressingand keeps the shock 26 stiff or rigid.

With the restriction of flow of oil through the oil flow aperture by theplunger 24 being in the engaged position, pressure build up in thesystem can be an issue. The bypass oil apertures 22 are provided toallow oil to flow through the bypass apertures 22 in the event that thepressure of the oil reaches a predetermined level that requires flowthrough the bypass apertures 22. Deactivating the control switch 18deactivates the solenoid 14 and the plunger 24 is moved to a disengagedposition not blocking the oil flow aperture 20.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of steps of a method 40 of using the on-demandshock stiffening system 10, which may include two subroutines ofengaging flow restriction and disengaging flow restriction. The method40 for engaging flow restriction may include engaging a control switch[Step 42]; engaging a flow control system in response to engaging thecontrol switch [Step 44]; restricting oil flow between a vehicle shockand an oil reservoir in response to engaging the flow control system[Step 46]; and stiffening the vehicle shock in response to restrictingoil flow between the vehicle shock and the oil reservoir [Step 48]

The method 40 for disengaging flow restriction may include disengagingthe control switch [Step 50]; disengaging the flow control system inresponse to engaging the control switch [Step 52]; allowing oil flowbetween the vehicle shock and the oil reservoir in response to engagingthe flow control system [Step 54]; and reducing stiffness of the vehicleshock in response to allowing oil flow between the vehicle shock and theoil reservoir [Step 56].

While the flow control system is depicted as a solenoid 14 with aplunger 24, it will be understood that any type of flow control systemmay be utilized so long as the system restricts flow of oil between thereservoir 30 and the shock 26 in response to operating the controlswitch 18.

The embodiments and examples set forth herein were presented in order tobest explain the present invention and its practical application and tothereby enable those of ordinary skill in the art to make and use theinvention. However, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognizethat the foregoing description and examples have been presented for thepurposes of illustration and example only. The description as set forthis not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to theprecise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possiblein light of the teachings above without departing from the spirit andscope of the forthcoming claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A shock stiffening system, comprising: amain body configured to be coupled between a shock and an oil reservoirof a hydraulic shock system of a vehicle; a flow control system coupledto or integral to the main body and changeable between an engagedposition, in which oil flow between the shock and the oil reservoir isrestricted, and a disengaged position, in which oil flow between theshock and the oil reservoir is unrestricted; a control switch configuredto be coupled to the vehicle within a driver compartment of the vehicle;and a coupling coupled between the control switch and the flow controlsystem to establish communication between the control switch and theflow control system, wherein the flow control system changes between theengaged position and the disengaged position in response to operation ofthe control switch; wherein the flow control system comprises: at leastone oil flow aperture through the main body, the at least one oil flowaperture being in fluid communication with the shock and the oilreservoir; a channel through the main body; and a plunger slidinglycoupled within the channel, wherein the plunger is changeable from anengaged position, in which the plunger is positioned to block the oilflow aperture so as to restrict oil flow through the oil flow aperture,and a disengaged position, in which the plunger is positioned away fromthe oil flow aperture so as to allow unrestricted oil flow through theoil flow aperture, wherein the plunger is aligned transversely withrespect to the oil reservoir, and wherein the plunger is between atleast two bypass apertures through the main body in a horizontaldirection.
 2. The shock stiffening system of claim 1, wherein the flowcontrol system further comprises: a solenoid coupled between the plungerand the coupling, wherein the plunger is changed between the engagedposition and the disengaged position in response to engagement anddisengagement of the solenoid in response to operation of the controlswitch.
 3. The shock stiffening system of claim 2, wherein the at leasttwo bypass apertures are in fluid communication with the shock and theoil reservoir, wherein oil flows through the at least one bypassaperture in response to a predetermined minimum oil pressuredifferential between a bridge and the oil reservoir.
 4. The shockstiffening system of claim 3, further comprising the bridge coupledbetween the shock and the main body, the bridge being in fluidcommunication with the shock and the main body.
 5. A shock stiffeningsystem, comprising: a vehicle shock; a main body coupled to the shock;an oil reservoir coupled to the main body; a flow control system beingcoupled to or integral to the main body, the flow control system beingchangeable between an engaged position, in which oil flow between theshock and the oil reservoir is restricted, and a disengaged position, inwhich oil flow between the shock and the oil reservoir is unrestricted;and a control switch coupled to the vehicle within a driver compartmentof the vehicle; a coupling coupled between the control switch and theflow control system to establish communication between the controlswitch and the flow control system, wherein the flow control systemrestricting oil flow between the shock and the oil reservoir changesbetween the engaged position and the disengaged position in response tooperation of the control switch, wherein the flow control systemcomprises: at least one oil flow aperture through the main body, the atleast one oil flow aperture being in fluid communication with the shockand the oil reservoir; a plunger channel through the main body; aplunger slidingly coupled within the plunger channel, wherein theplunger is changeable from an engaged position, in which the plunger ispositioned to block the oil flow aperture so as to restrict oil flowthrough the oil flow aperture, and a disengaged position, in which theplunger is positioned away from the oil flow aperture so as to allowunrestricted oil flow through the oil flow aperture, wherein the plungeris aligned transversely with respect to the oil reservoir, and whereinthe plunger is between at least two bypass apertures through the mainbody in a horizontal direction.
 6. The shock stiffening system of claim5, wherein the flow control system further comprises: a solenoid coupledbetween the plunger and the coupling, wherein the plunger is changedbetween the engaged position and the disengaged position in response toengagement and disengagement of the solenoid in response to operation ofthe control switch.
 7. The shock stiffening system of claim 6, the atleast two bypass apertures are in fluid communication with a bridge andthe oil reservoir, wherein oil flows through the at least one bypassaperture in response to a predetermined minimum oil pressuredifferential between the bridge and the oil reservoir.
 8. The shockstiffening system of claim 7, wherein the bridge is coupled between theshock and the main body, the bridge being in fluid communication withthe shock and the main body.
 9. A method of using a shock stiffeningsystem, comprising: engaging a control switch; engaging a flow controlsystem in response to engaging the control switch; restricting oil flowbetween a vehicle shock and an oil reservoir in response to engaging theflow control system; and stiffening the vehicle shock in response torestricting oil flow between the vehicle shock and the oil reservoir,wherein the flow control system comprises: at least one oil flowaperture through the main body, the at least one oil flow aperture beingin fluid communication with the shock and the oil reservoir; a plungerchannel through the main body; a plunger slidingly coupled within theplunger channel, wherein the plunger is changeable from an engagedposition, in which the plunger is positioned to block the oil flowaperture so as to restrict oil flow through the oil flow aperture, and adisengaged position, in which the plunger is positioned away from theoil flow aperture so as to allow unrestricted oil flow through the oilflow aperture, wherein the plunger is aligned transversely with respectto the oil reservoir, and wherein the plunger is between at least twobypass apertures through the main body in a horizontal direction. 10.The method of claim 9, wherein engaging the flow control systemcomprises: engaging a solenoid; and sliding the plunger, coupled to thesolenoid, to an engaged position, in response to engaging the solenoid.11. The method of claim 9, further comprising: disengaging the controlswitch; disengaging the flow control system in response to disengagingthe control switch; allowing oil flow between the vehicle shock and theoil reservoir in response to engaging the flow control system; andreducing stiffness of the vehicle shock in response to allowing oil flowbetween the vehicle shock and the oil reservoir.
 12. The method of claim11, wherein disengaging the flow control system comprises: disengaging asolenoid; and sliding the plunger, coupled to the solenoid, to adisengaged position, in response to disengaging the solenoid.